


Freedom

by kikabennet



Series: The Wonderful World of Teenagers [11]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Family Drama, Family Feels, Gavrel is a brat, Homophobia, Homosexuality, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Running Away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-15 21:17:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15421779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikabennet/pseuds/kikabennet
Summary: Gavrel Milkovich runs away from home. Continued from "Change"





	Freedom

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my gosh. This story was in writing purgatory forever. I'm sorry it's short and unedited. I promised not to abandon this series, and I'm really trying. As always (if you're still following this series) shoot me ideas and what not and I always try and respond to comments. Thanks!

Gavrel sighed as he stared at the pile of both crumpled and neatly stacked bills before him on his bedspread. He'd counted and recounted them several times. He'd written the numbers down more than once in the back of his English journal. 

It was enough.

Between Jakob's saved money and the money he'd made over the past few weeks selling pills and copper wire and running errands for Uncle Iggy, there was more than enough for bus tickets and to survive for some time somewhere. There was maybe enough for even plane tickets. 

A knock sounded at the door and Gavrel scrambled to pull his unmade comforter over the pile of money. Ian took a quick peek inside before stepping in all the way. 

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," Gavrel replied, trying to remain casual. He chewed on a hangnail nervously. 

"I heard you come in and run up here," Ian said, toeing some dirty laundry with his sock-clad feet. "Everything okay? I feel like we haven't seen you in a month."

He was half joking, but the jobs had kept Gavrel pretty busy. 

"Wanna go for a run?" Ian asked. "Play some Mario All Star or something?"

"I was actually gonna shower and go to bed early," Gavrel said.

"Oh." Ian nodded. "Okay."

He started to head out the door and then turned back around. "You sure everything's alright?"

Gavrel didn't know how exactly, but his parents were bloodhounds when it  came to things like this. They just always seemed to sense when something wasn't right in the air. Next to Svetlana, Ian was probably the best at it. 

"Nothing's wrong," he told his father, eyeing the door, giving him the cue to exit. 

Ian playfully rolled his eyes and said, "Okay."

Once he was out of the room, Gavrel gingerly uncovered the money. He'd been trying to convince himself that this was for the best. This would keep him and Jakob together. He'd tried to convince himself that his parents were as bad as Jake's, if only to make the idea of abandoning them hurt less. 

It never worked. His parents were amazing and he had so much love for them that it scared him sometimes. 

There was Ian, who struggled with his own mind and emotions on a daily basis, but always put his husband and children first. Ian was the one who cooked and cleaned and always made sure the kids did their homework and had clean laundry. He was the one who was patient with Gavrel's attitude and gave him physical affection because he knew deep down that Gavrel wanted it. He had stayed out on the street with him until after dark helping him to learn to ride his bicycle because Gavrel had so desperately wanted not to have training wheels on Bike Day at school. He had gotten Gavrel an aquarium one Christmas-a beautiful aquarium with tropical plants and fish because it was at the top of his list and it was something they'd worked on together up until the last Platy died. Ian, who looked like Gavrel because he'd given him life.

There was Mickey, who understood Gavrel best because he was like Gavrel-he loved too much and because of that it made him act guarded and indifferent. Mickey, Gavrel knew, loved all of his children fiercely, but the bond between him and his middle son was special. One of Gavrel's earliest memories was being toted around by Mickey in the early hours of the morning. He'd had an earache and Mickey had walked him around the house, shushing him gently, rubbing his back and nosing his hair. It wasn't anything memorable, but it was still fresh in Gavrel's mind the way he'd whispered to him, "Daddy's got you, Kid. I always got you."

There was Svetlana, who was tough, but fair. She loved all of her children equally-Gavrel never doubted that, but the ways she loved each of them was so different. With Gavrel, she was playful and funny, but she could also match him in attitude when need be. She would sometimes kiss his cheek or hold his hand or just look at him, and Gavrel knew that she knew he was gay. The two had never discussed it, but he just knew, and he knew that it was okay. 

Alex, his stepfather, who he could hardly remember life before him, was not the kind of man to just take the 'father' part in stepfather because he had to. He loved the Milkovich children like they were his own. He had surprised Gavrel one evening after Gavrel had been sick with the flu with Spiderman comics. He had introduced Gavrel to a colleague they'd run into at a restaurant as his son. He had pictures of the Milkovich children on his desk in his office. He had grown adult children, two sons, who had basically decided once he financially cut them off in their mid-twenties that he wasn't worth anything to them, and they were always referred to by name. He and Yevgeny and Izzy were referred to as his children.

Not only would he be leaving his parents, but his brother and sister too. Gavrel loved Yevvie and Izzy more than anything in the whole world. He was baffled by some of his friends who couldn't stand their siblings or had little interaction with them. It was perfectly normal for all three of them to chill out on one of their beds. It was normal, even for Izzy being the only girl, to walk around in their underwear and not be embarrassed. It was normal for Yevvie to hug and kiss them. It was normal for them to text 'I love you' and mean it. 

Was it normal to trade four wonderful parents and two wonderful siblings for a wonderful boyfriend? 

\-------

The winter weather soon became spring and Gavrel and Jakob had earned and saved more than enough to run away. Gavrel had never had so much money tucked away in odd places in his room, and though it seemed like a lot now, Jakob went over the boring stuff like rent and food and transit which made it seem like a lot less. 

"We should go to New York," Gavrel said. "People run away there all the time. People make it there."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jakob asked, closing the worn spiral notebook they were using as a planning guide. "I don't want you to leave your family."

Gavrel drew his knees up and rested his chin on them.

"Maybe I need to leave," he said, wriggling his toes inside of his socks. "I need to see who I am without them."

He had been thinking about that a lot, who he was. He looked like Ian. He behaved like Mickey. He was a son and a brother, but who was he without all of that? Maybe going far away would help.

"Besides," he said quickly. "Once we get settled, I'll write them. Let them know we're okay and stuff."

He was careful not to add 'where we are' because he knew they would hunt the boys down and drag Gavrel home. 

"It's okay if you don't want to leave," Jakob said quietly, sliding his hand under Gavrel's, threading their fingers together. 

"I have to, though," he added quietly, leaning back against the headboard of Gavrel's bed. 

Gavrel laid down next to him. They were so close they could feel each other's breath. Gavrel wanted to kiss him, and so he did. Jakob didn't kiss him back. A pained expression crossed his face and he rolled onto his back. 

"My parents found a school for me," he said in a small voice. "They're ready to get rid of me."

\-----------

"Izzy?" Mickey asked, walking into the garage/Izzy's art studio. "You seen Gavvie today?"

"He went to school," Izzy said, sitting cross legged in the comfy desk chair Uncle Liam had bought for her. She was drawing wildflowers in one of her millions of sketchbooks. "But I stayed late for VASE so I didn't see him after."

"Little shit ain't pickin' up his phone," Mickey muttered. "Alright. Fuck. Whatever."

Mickey called Yevgeny (again) who said he also hadn't got a hold of him. Gavrel was bad about not answering phone calls, but he was good about returning text messages. He hadn't returned a single one in the past three hours. It was pushing eight o'clock at night. 

"Still nothing?" Ian asked, walking into the kitchen where Mickey was sliding into one of the chairs, running his hands through his hair. 

"No." Mickey raised his eyebrows. "You?"

"No," Ian said, and bit his bottom lip. "He's been acting...off."

"The fuck are you?" Mickey grumbled, trying to call him again. 

Mickey and Ian both knew in the next hour if Gavrel didn't surface, they would have to get Svetlana involved, and that would not be pretty. She raised hell when one of the kids were hurt or missing. 

\-------

Izzy traveled to her brother's room, softly singing to herself, her mind light years away thinking of her art project for VASE. She was going to do a self-portrait, something she'd never done before. She opened the door and began snooping around for the sketchbook she'd left somewhere the night before when she had been snuggled up between her brothers talking about anything and everything from embarrassing dreams to their favorite variation of Pringles chips. She frowned thoughtfully as she noticed a folded sheet of notebook paper peeking out from under Gavrel's pillow. She pulled it out. It read 'Everyone' on it. She unfolded it.

\--------

"Daddy!" 

Mickey and Ian stood up as Izzy bolted down the stairs, frantically waving a sheet of paper. 

"What's wrong?" Mickey asked.

Izzy handed it to Mickey, tears filling her eyes as she bit her bottom lip. Mickey read it, inhaling deeply and scrubbing a hand down his face. 

"What is it?" Ian asked and Mickey wordlessly handed it to him. 

" 'Everyone, I'm very sorry to do this, but I have to leave. I can't tell you where. I know I'm hurting you and I'm sorry to do that, but I can't stand to see Jakob get hurt anymore. His dad hits him, he's sending him away to boarding school, but Jakob suspects it's conversion therapy. I know I don't say it enough, but I love you. I love you so much and I hope you  can forgive me' ".

Izzy was surprised at how calm her fathers remained after Ian had finished the note. 

"Where do you think he went?" Mickey asked.

"Not far," Ian replied. "He doesn't have a lot of money."

"Why would he leave?" Izzy asked, sounding hurt. 

\--------

"Are you nervous?" Jakob asked as he and Gavrel watched the scenery change as the bus chugged on. The one way bus to New York City.

Jakob had found a youth shelter in New York that helped gay teenagers. It seemed like a good start though Gavrel was wary about the idea of living in a shelter, and he also felt guilty about it. Sure, he was a gay teenager, but after browsing the Facebook page Jakob had linked him, it was obvious that this shelter was for teenagers who'd been thrown out of their homes or beat up on by their parents. Gavrel had no business taking up space that belonged to someone who probably actually needed it. Jakob needed it, though, and he'd already made a promise to go wherever Jakob went. 

He leaned back against the bus seat and wondered if someone had found his note yet. Gavrel had never been good with words, and though he'd written and rewritten the letter a hundred times, he knew it sounded indifferent. It was cruel. He felt cruel, but maybe that was for the best. It made it hurt less.

"Wake me up when we get there?" He asked, snuggling up against Jakob and closing his eyes. A few tears still managed to leak out.

 

To Be Continued...


End file.
